As if four box office-busting films weren’t enough, Marvel Studios had five TV shows debut at Disney+ this year in a bid to expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the small screen.
Starting with “WandaVision” in January and ending with “Hawkeye” wrapping up right before Christmas of 2021, we’ve now seen the entirety of all five of these series (or at least their first seasons), so below we look back at how the critical (and audience) community weighed in on the shows.
Behold, all of 2021’s Marvel Disney+ shows ranked according to Rotten Tomatoes score.
5. “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”
Avg Tomatometer: 89% / Audience Score: 82%
The second Marvel Studios series of 2021 was “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” which arrived on Disney+ after COVID delays. The series finds Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) joining forces as Wilson transitions into his role of the new Captain America. Bucky has his own struggles to deal with as he comes to terms with his past as The Winter Soldier.
4. “WandaVision”
Avg Tomatometer: 91% / Audience Score: 86%
The first show of 2021, “WandaVision,” features character couple Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) in a series of stylistic sitcom episodes, each shaped according to a different television era as imagined by Wanda. “WandaVision,” sets the stage for the upcoming sequel to “Doctor Strange” (2016), the trailer for which shows Strange approaching Wanda to ask about the multiverse. Several other big bombshells came out of Marvel’s first television series of 2021, which include MCU reveals, character connections, cliffhangers and more.
2. “Hawkeye” (tie)
Avg Tomatometer: 92% / Audience Score: 90%
Rounding out 2021’s lineup of breakout TV series, “Hawkeye” launched in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, fully embracing the holiday spirit. Post-blip (the events of which can be traced through “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame), Clint Barton returns to New York City in hopes of spending time with his family for Christmas, hence the spirited soundtrack full of holiday hits. Rather than the relaxing holiday cheer he looks forward to, Barton finds himself forced to join forces with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), a 22 year-old archer who happens to be his biggest fan, in order to combat an unexpected resurgent villain from his past. The unlikely pair attempt to dismantle a criminal conspiracy together, with Barton teaching Bishop all of his secret skills along the way, so that they can share the Hawkeye mantle. The series ties up many threads left behind by “Black Widow” characters Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johanssen) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), connecting the characters as well as projecting an established yet unclear future for many of them.
2. “Loki” (tie)
Avg Tomatometer: 92% / Audience Score: 90%
Many Marvel fans’ favorite villain returned for his own series “Loki” in early summer 2021. The show finds the Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from “The Avengers” pulled out of his own timeline and imprisoned by the TVA, where he’s forced to reckon with his lifelong pursuit of “glorious purpose.” And as if the starpower of Tom Hiddleston as Loki weren’t enough, the show introduces Owen Wilson to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Agent Mobius.
1. “What if…?”
Avg Tomatometer: 93% / Audience Score: 92%
The animated series “What If…?” capitalizes on what Marvel does best, especially when it comes to the MCU and the multiverse. For those that love puzzle solving, connecting the dots and tracking Easter eggs, “What If..” presents opportunities to do all of that and more by reimagining important plot points in the MCU that involve key twists and turns in the overarching story. The series is inclined to pull heartstrings by reworking losses of certain characters and/or actors like Chadwick Boseman, who recorded lines for the series before his untimely death in 2020. The voice cast of “What If…?” includes live action counterparts to each hero or avenger, as well as new voices, narrated by Jeffrey Wright, whose title is The Watcher.
